Edwakd b



(No Model.) 2 Sheets-#Sheet 1.

H. N. DALTON.

TERASHING MACHINE. No. 251,922. Patented May'16.1882.

N. Prrzns. Phamlimogmphm. wayin-gm D. c.

2 sheetssheen 2.

E. N. DALTON. THRASHING MACHINE.

(N0 Model.)

Patented May 16 f. fr A N. PETERS. Phuluiiumgm i ing and supplying the grain thereto. Fig.3is` a` verticalsectiou through the separator, fans,-

; Unirse STATES PATENT @raient ,y

`HENRY N. YnALTON, on OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA.

THRAsHiNG-MACHINE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 257,922, dated May 16, 1882.

I Application tiled February 14, 1881. (No model.)

To alt whom it may concern: i

Beit known that LHENRY N. DALTON, of Oakland, in the county of Alameda and State ot' California., have made and invented certain new and useful. Improvements in Thrashing Machines; and I do hereby declare that the` following is a full, clear, and exact description of my said invention, reference being had to the accompanying drawings. i

My invention relates to improvements in means for feeding or introducing and supply-` ing grain to the cylinders of thrashing-ma chines; to improvements in means for separat` ing the grain from the straw and cleaning it of foreign matter; and to improvements in means for treating or actingnpon the straw and chaff refuse to recover and return grain,unthrashed heads, and partly-thrashed heads,'liable`to cscape in the offal.

In thedrawings herein referred l is a vertical section through the length of the frame and partsV of the thrashing-machine' to which my improvementsv are applied. The elevators for conveying the grain to the hagging-spouts and for raising and discharging the returns into the cylinder are shown, for convenience of illustrating, as being upon the oif side ofthe machine,`while in practice they would be both on the nearside in this view. Fig. 2 is a vertical section through the thrash-` ingeylinder and concave, showingthe manner of forming a close chamberaround the thrashing apparatus, andmy improved mode ot' feedand the chaftstacker. A Fig. 4 is a section through the chute or conductor leading to the bagging-spouts, showing the cleaning apparatus for treating the grain at its point ot' dis` charge into the bags.`

I inclose thespace around and over the: thrashinglcylinder, so as to form aclosed chainber, 1, into the upper part of which and over the' top of the cylinder I introduce the grain; and I place and operate within this chamber' a means for breaking up, loosening, and supplying the grain to the cylinder as it comes fromihe'end ofthe feeder;V To accomplish this I shut in the space between the sides'A of the machine-frame and eter the cylinder B by means of a concave top'or'cover, 2,`and

to, Figurev front and rear boards, plates, or partitions, 3 4. The top 2 I make detachable, or so that it can be turned back, either by hinging it at the rear or by making it to lift entirely off, like a cap, and the front plate, 3, I make removable, so that it also can be taken out and inserted when desired.

The rear plate, 4, can he xed permanently in place, and its office is to act as a cut-off, both to prevent the escape of grain from the lchamber over the cylinder and to cut otf the `return of thrashed grain, which is liable to be drawn back by the cylinder from the discharge end of the concave. The front plate, 3, is a continuation of the front edge of the concave C," and it fills up the opening between the concave and the under side of the feeder D. Be low the end of the feeder, where it enters and projects into the cylinder-chamber l, I place 4an inclined plate, 5, which projects toward the cylinder, for the purpose ot' acting as a cut-0E .to` prevent the grain from catching beneath `and being drawn back bythe under surfaccot the feeder. This cut-oft' 5 may be on or a partofthe front plate, 3,' or else tixed in place on the llower portion of the feeder end.

- Within the chamber, and above the cylinder inclosed by it, I place a device for breaking up and separating the strawto he thrashed, which is operated to catch or work against the straw as it leaves the end ofthe feeder and throw itin a free and loose condition uniformly over and upon the'cylinder and toward the concave. The means 1 employ for this purpose consists of the heatershal't 6, provided with arms or blades, after the usual manner, and operated with a rapidly-rotating movement in a forward direction, or against the travel of the material entering the chamber lfrom the feeder. I The position of this beaterand its rapid rotation cause it to break up and free the straw of all lumps and bunches and to bring it into a more uniformly disintegratedl condition before it is caught by the cylinder and concave, and the result ot' this treatment, that the use of the closed chamber around the cylinderrenders possible, is to produce an even distribution of the grain to be tlirashed over the length of the4 thrashing cylinder, and thus prevent any straining, stopping, or irregular action of the cylinderby the clogging or collection of the IOC) grain in bunches or masses in between the concave and cylinder.

I employ an endless straw-carrier in two parts, sections, or divisions, one of which takes the straw from the grain-belt E and carries it to the rear of the machine, while the other section, placed behind and at a distance below the iirst section and within the machine, catches the refuse straw as it drops from the first `sec tion and throws it out at the tail of the machine upon the straw-pile. I place these two sections of endless carrier so as to obtain a perpendicular fall of 'some distance between the upper or discharging end of one section and the surface of the next section. The first section,7,is placed, in the usual 1nanner,atthe rear of the end of the grain-belt; but the second section, 8, has a position below at the rear of the section 7, so that it shall receive and convey to the rear ofthe machine the straw that is thrown from the upper section. The fall provided for the straw is for the purpose of allowing the grain and unthrashed heads to separate -and drop through the straw and through the openings in the carrier onto the inclined board or bottom g below the carrier, while the straw, from its lighter quality, will fall less rapidly and will be caught upon the traveling surface of the carrier. All the heavy particles thus separated from the refuse by the second section of carrier 8 are directed and introduced to the separator F bythe inclined vbottom board, g, ot' the carrier to receive the action of the sieve.

In some qualities of grain, and in long straw particularly, I find it to be of great advantage to employ an additional device in connection with the perpendicular fall or space between the two sections of strawcarrier to facilitate the loosening and separating of the entangled grain and heads from the body of straw. In short straw, also, it will be found desirable to use this device for producing a more certain and complete removal of grain particles and heads from the tailings. The means or device Which I employ for this purpose consists of a slatted endless belt or draper, 9, placed in an upright position behind and ata distance from the discharging end of the straw-carrier 7, so as to intercept and be struck by the straw as it comes in a stream or body from the carrier, and thus the draper 9 is made to present a surface against which the straw shall impinge and be arrested in its backward movement through the space over the lower carrier, 8. A rapid movement is given to `this draper 9 by means of atrain of gears from the carrier-shaft 7, so that the device shall be driven at a higher speed than the carrier, the result of which is to effect a breaking up and loosening ot the straw and its precipitation through the space and upon the lower carrier, 8, and thereby release the grain and heads confined and entangled therein. In short clean straw, where the separation is well performed on the grain-belt, this movement of the draper may be dispensed with and the straw be projected by the carrier 7 against the stationary draper 9, as against a ixed surface; but when working in long straw the rapid movement then given to the draper 9 will cause the slats or projections of the belt to act` with a better effect upon the stream ot' refuse or tailings, and will thoroughl y break and loosen the straw and release the particles to be recovered.

One or more beater-shafts could be snbsti tuted in place of the draper 9 to tear up and loosen the straw in its descent to the lower carrier, 8; but the slatted draper herein described has the advantages ot' presenting a larger surface against the movementbackward of the straw, and of being used also as a sta tionary surface withoutmotion to mcrelycheck and divert the direction ot' travel of the strawrefuse.

To separate the chaff from the principal body of grain that is discharged from the end of the grain-belt or long draper, and also' to receive and act upon the returns7 or the matter recovered from therefuse or tailings by the upper and lower sections of straw-carrier 7 8, I employ a separatorofnovel construction, which I operate by means ot' pitman-rods and cranks or eccentrics upon a shaft of the machine in the ordinary manner. I construct this separator F with two sieves, 10 1l, which I place in different planes and one behind the other, so that the iirst sieve, 10, has a position underneath the opening H, where the grain is discharged from the long draper to receive and act upon the principal body of grain, while the second sieve, 11, has a position behind the first sieve and on a lower level, so as to receive both the matter recovered from the refuse or tailings byy the straw-carrier 8 and also the matter discharged from the surface of the-first sieve `by the vibrations of the separator. The two sieves are mounted in one frame and have acommon vibration. They are supported upon and by the spring-rods 13 13, fixed at the upper ends tothe separator-frame 12 and at the lower ends to the principal frame A.

Within theframe 12, and beneath the sieves, II secure the necessary inclines 14 and detleetors 15 for directing the wind from the blowers 16 16, and for conducting thev separated grain from beneath the sieves into the augerspouts 17 17, connecting with the elevator N.

I employ two separately-acting fans, 16 16, by which I apply a strong and concentrated current of wind under the whole surface Aof each sieve, and by the arrangement of one sieve below the other I am enabled to place the fans 16 in line over each other in Va compact manner, sothat power can be easily applied to run them together, andthe wind from each fan can be brought more directly underneath and distributed to its proper sieve. 'I thus make the surface of the screen operative and effective at all points, and practically operative at its rear end, where, in large screens, thegrain lodging at such point is frequently rICV) IOSl discharged with the `tailings by the vibrations of the separator, instead of being properly separated and directed into the grain-spouts 17.

I have found in `practice that the current of 5 wind from a fan of sufficient size to operato underv the surface of alarge screen has a tendency t0 take the most direct routevand outlet through the front end of the screen, as the fan acting at or to oneside of the screen does not give proper force and distribution of wind to y the rear end of the screen, and therefore this imperfect operation and loss of grain in the refuse is the result.

My improved arrangement of screens and r 5 fans gives a more rapid and complete/separation, and there is less amount of grain `to be returned to the thrashing'cylinder. One part of the screeningsurface of the sieve l0 is also ,adapted to receive and act separately upon ,y `cb the cleaner body of grain from the grain-belt,

while the second part of the screen receives the matter recovered from the refuse and separates it independently of the upper screen.

The grain passed through the sieves of the separator is conveyed in the usual manner, by meansof angers M and elevator 6N, up to the front of the machine to the chute O, that leads i to the baggingsponts P; but instead of discharging the grain directly into the chute, I cause it to pass through a cleaning operation as it enters the chute. This linal screening I accomplish by placing a sieve, 19, at the front of the machine and over the top of the grainchute 0, so as to catch thegrain from the end of the elevator N. I prefer to place thissicve just behind the cylinder-chamber 1, so that l can carry or extend the lower and discharging end of the sieve directly into the space over the cylinder, by which all matter retained by `the screeningsurface will pass and be discharged upon the top of the cylinderl to be worked over again, but the clean grain will pass intothe chute. Below this sieve 19 are the inclines 20, that form a hopper-like extension of the chute O, to catch and direct the grain in its passage from the sieve.

' As the grain descends in the chute or conductor it is subjected to and undergoes a purifying process or operation to extract all foul mattersuch as oats, cheat,77 and seeds of dit'- ferent kinds, that detract from the quality of the wheat and require to be removed. For this purpose I place in the interior of the ch utc and on opposite sides a number of inclined shelves or detlectors,21,to change the perpendicular fall and descent of the grain into a zigzag course, and in connection with the chute and the spaces left and provided beneath the shelves I employ an exhaust-fan, 22, and a vacuum-chamber, 23, having an aperture Vthat opens into thechute beneath the shelves, or im-V mediately under one of them, so that by the suctionot' the air through the chamberaper ture from thechnteO the lighter seedsV and par ticles will be drawn over into the chamber, while the heavier grain will descend to the bagging-spouts. The chamber 23 has an inclined bottom andadischarge-outlet controlled byaweighted valve,-24t, by which the contents will be automatically discharged when a quantity has accumulated in the chamber.

rIhe chaff-stacker I is an endless slatted belt v placed behind the separator F to receive the olf-al from the last sieve and carry it out of the machine. Eer the purpose of recovering from this refuse matter any particles of grain and the unthrashed heads discharged from l.the sieves of the separator, the lower end of the stacker is placed just over a receiving-spout, 25, from which, by means of an auger, 26, the matter is conveyed to the elevator R, to be returned by it to the cylinder.

Beneath the upper part or backward-traveling surface of the belt I, I place a perforated plate or screen, 28, which supports the mass of matter being carried out by the belt, and also allows the heavy particles to be saved to pass down and drop upon the solid inclined bottom 29 below the stacker I. The end of this incline projects over' the spout, so as to discharge intoit, and thus the recovered particles are conveyed into this receptacle., to be raised by the elevator to the front of the machine. i

By suchv construction and" arrangement of parts I insure regular and uniform action of 1. In a thrashingmachine, the combination of the thrashing-cylinder, aclosed chamber having a removable top and front plate, the feeder projecting a short distance into the chamber, a rotating beater revolved in the same direction as the motion of the thrashing-cylinder, and a fixed rear stop-plate to prevent the rcturn of the thrashed material, substantially as set forth.

ICC

IIO

2. In a thrashing-machine, the combination of the means, substantially as described, for presenting an upright surface, 9, the strawcarrier, and the shoe or separator 11, substantially as set forth.

3. In a thrashing-machine, the combination of the endless belt or draper presenting an upright surface and having a movement in one direction, of the straw carrier 8 and the carl rier 7, substantially as and for the purpose specified. f

4. The combination of the sieves l0 and 11, the former being arranged above and back ot' the latter, so that the refuse from the former falls upon the latter, with the carrier 7 andincline g, for directing the heavier materials onto the sieve 10, and the carrier 8 and incline g, In Witness that I claim the foregoing Ihave 1o for direetingthe heavier materials gathered by hereunto set my hand and seal. it upon sieve l1, substantially as set forth.

5. In athrashing-maehine, the combination, HENRY N. DALTON. [L 5.] with the upright slatted endless beltor draper Ai), of the separator F,11aving the two sieves Witnesses:

10 and 11, the inolines 14 and 15, receivings, EDWARD E. OSBORN, spouts 17, .and fans'l 16, substantially as set GHAS. D. WHEAT. forth. 

